


You Can See Forever

by htbthomas



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Ferris Wheels, Friendship, Gen, ML Fandom Week, ML Fandom Week 2016, POV Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-15
Updated: 2016-08-15
Packaged: 2018-08-09 00:14:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7779115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/htbthomas/pseuds/htbthomas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marinette and Adrien on a Ferris wheel, meeting for the first time. Or is it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Can See Forever

**Author's Note:**

> Written for MLfandomweek, Day 2: AU/Friends.
> 
> Based on the prompt: "I wanted to go on the ferris wheel but there has to be two people to a cart come on random person let’s go oh wait are we stuck at the top? Fuck" from [this post](http://nerds-are-cool.tumblr.com/post/133544218971).

Marinette looks around for Alya—she can't see her anywhere, and she's not answering her texts. She said she was just going to play one game, one! And then she'd get in line for the Ferris wheel with Marinette. 

Well, now Marinette is two people from the front and she's all alone. Her lips pucker with frustration and she blows out a breath. Alya knows this is Marinette's favorite ride… or she would if she were in line to talk about it!

"Next," the ride operator drawls, and now she's at the front of the line. Marinette growls low in her throat. Alya _needs_ to get back here, preferably five minutes ago. The operator pulls the lever, the wheel spins and then he's looking at her with a bored expression. "Next."

She whines low under her breath and then takes a step forward, getting into the seat, hoping…

"Two to a car." No such luck. "Get someone to ride with you or go find someone first."

She sighs and starts to stand. Alya is in _so_ much trouble…

"I'll ride with her," a voice says.

Marinette turns toward the voice, her mouth pursing in surprise. It's a boy her age, with a head of blond hair and kind eyes. He looks… familiar, but she can't place where.

"Whatever, just hurry up." 

And then he's sitting beside her before she can protest and the ride is moving them backward. She gives him an awkward wave. "Hi."

"Hi, I'm Adrien." He smiles, and it knocks her back. Wow, he's hot. Really hot. Model hot.

"Uh, um, I'm Marinette," she mumbles, trying to get ahold of herself. "Thanks for… you know."

He shrugs, and the car stops, swinging back and forth. "I was in line alone, too. I didn't know about the rule until he said something to you." He rubs the back of his neck and glances upward and to the side, looking just as awkward as she feels. 

Okay, correction. Adorkable hot. That she can deal with. She opens her mouth to tell him she wasn't in line alone, her friend _ditched_ her, but decides against it. "It worked out, then."

"Yeah," he says, relaxing. The car moves upward again.

Marinette takes in a deep breath, relaxing as well and taking in the view—the best part of riding on a Ferris wheel. On one side, the Jardin des Tuileries stretches, on the other she can see the Grand Palais. And when they're at the top, there will be a wonderful view of the city.

Not that it's any better than when she's swinging through the city as Ladybug, or having a snack with Chat Noir at the top of the Eiffel Tower. But it's lovely to get this view as Marinette, as just her.

As she turns her head to look around, she catches another angle on Adrien, and she's hit with the same sense of familiarity as before. "I swear I've seen you somewhere, but I can't figure out where…"

"You, too?" he chuckles. "I've been afraid to say anything."

Him? Afraid? She would have pegged him for a player, five sets of digits a day. "Huh. Where do you go to school?"

"I…" He pauses, fidgeting with a ring on his finger, then goes on. "I'm homeschooled. I do all my lessons with tutors."

"Oh…" she says. So it's not that. "What's that like?"

"It's… I don't know. I've always done that? My father says I can go to university, but that's a long way off." He twists at the ring some more, clearly uncomfortable.

So she lets it drop. "So where do I know you from then?"

"Maybe you saw me in a magazine. I do a little modeling." 

He says it like it's no big deal, but her mouth drops open. Reverse correction. He _is_ model hot, because he is an actual model. She must have seen him in her fashion mags, though she usually pays more attention to the fashions than the models. She recovers. "What line?"

"My father's line. Agreste."

Impressive. She's always admired his work, even dreamed of interning at a company like that someday. Now all the private tutors make sense. "That must be it, then."

"Yeah." The wheel makes another ratchet skyward. "But how do I know _you_?"

Before she can tell him she doesn't know, the wheel starts to turn in earnest, and both fall silent. It's the best feeling, the rise and fall through the air, the breeze ruffling her hair, which she left loose today. "I love this part," she finally says.

He stretches his arms out, his fingers splaying wide. "So much freedom, but such lack of control." He smiles wide, and it plucks a chord somewhere deep inside.

"And you can see forever." She leans forward to grasp the railing and tilts her chin upward to catch more wind.

Then with a horrific screech of metal, the Ferris wheel grinds to a halt. The two cry out with terror, and she whips forward, her fingers holding on for dear life. It's one thing to fly through the air when she's in her Ladybug uniform. This would be quite another! Is it even possible to transform in mid-air? And what about all the people who would see?

But a second later, she realizes she's protected by the safety bar; there was no need for real panic. It takes her heart, pounding like mad, a bit to catch up with her brain. "Are you okay?" she asks Adrien.

He's gripping the sides, eyes wide. "Yes," he says, nodding.

"Are you sure?" He looks terrified.

He unhooks his fingers and lets out a long breath. Then he cocks his head and says, " _Wheel_ -y, I am," complete with finger guns.

Her mouth twists in a half-frown, half-smirk. What was she, a goofball magnet? She'd gotten used to it from Chat, even liked it, though she'd never tell him. Shaking her head, she looks over the side. "What do you think happened?"

 _"Attention, passengers. There has been a slight mechanical difficulty. Do not be alarmed."_ The voice through the loudspeaker sounds a little strained, or is she imagining it? _"Technicians are on the way."_

Sighing, she sits back. "Looks like we're in for a long one." It's no akuma, at least, so there's no need to put the spots on. Not that she could risk it with so many witnesses. Especially the goofy-model-hot-kind boy in the seat beside her.

"Maybe it'll give me a chance to figure out how I know you. Do you fence?"

"Nope."

"Take Chinese?"

"My mom wishes I would, but no."

"Play an instrument?"

She brays a laugh. "Absolutely not. I play a mean game of Ultimate Mecha Strike, though."

"Oh? I love that game, too. But I only play it at home, not in any tournaments. What else do you do for fun?"

Transform into a superhero and fight crime with my partner every night. Only she can't say that, obviously. "I like to design clothes, actually. I make a lot of my outfits myself."

He sits forward. "Really? Did you make what you're wearing?"

She nods, looking down to pluck at her shirt and blush with pride. "It's nothing special, though."

"It is. It really flatters you."

That makes the blush get hotter. She risks a glance at his face, and he's smiling pleasantly, like there's no ulterior motive. "Thanks."

They talk like that a little while, getting to know each other's interests and talents. He finds out that she works in her parents' bakery, she finds out that he's traveled all over the world. But they can't find a single point of contact in their lives where they might have met before.

Unless…

Did she save him as Ladybug once? Maybe he recognizes her that way, as strange as it might be. But she can't just come out and ask that.

"Too bad Ladybug and Chat Noir haven't come to save us yet," he says.

She jumps with the coincidence. "Uh, yeah. Maybe there's an akuma to defeat somewhere and they're tied up."

"Are you a fan?"

"Who isn't?" she says breezily. "They're pretty awesome."

"Who's your favorite?" His eyes sparkle. "Mine's Ladybug. She's amazing."

She fights a blush, but she can't fight a smile. Maybe she _did_ save him once. "Not Chat Noir? He's pretty cool, too."

Then he seems to be fighting a blush. How odd. "No, it's Ladybug all the way for me."

A perfect opening. "Did she save you?"

He purses his lips, thinking. "More than once."

She doesn't remember that! "What do you m—?"

Then the Ferris wheel suddenly comes to life with a jerk, and her teeth click together. Ow. They spin downward pretty rapidly, taking no time at all to get the stuck passengers off the ride.

At the bottom, an apologetic man stands beside the operator, handing out passes to each pair as they leave their cart. "Sorry for the trouble."

"I guess we made it," Marinette says to Adrien as they exit. Without thinking, she lifts her fist to bump it with his.

"Pound it!" the two say in unison.

All the blood drains from her face, and her world spins, even though she's off the Ferris wheel now. It can't be… But he looks just as devastated. "My Lady?" he whispers hoarsely.

She glances at his shaking hands, sees the ring exactly where it should be, though it's a dull silver instead of black. "Chat?"

"Marinette!"

Alya's voice behind her makes both of them jump.

"Hey!" Marinette turns to see Alya approaching, carrying a stuffed animal under her arm. "I'm sooo sorry that I missed the ride. But it looks like you found a willing partner! Who is—?" She frowns.

Marinette sees why. Adrien is backing away with an awkward smile, waving jerkily. "Um, see you soon, Marinette, I gotta—" And then he disappears into the crowd.

Huh. They're going to be talking about that—and a bunch of other things—at length during patrol tonight. Wow. How random to find out his identity like this!

Alya sidles up, nudging her with a shoulder. "Oo, he's going to 'see you soon'? Looks like someone made a new friend!"

"Yeah," she says with a smile, but it's not quite right. More like an old one.


End file.
